GfK World Map Edition updated and expanded

GfK GeoMarketing's new and completely overhauled digital World Map Edition is now available. This global edition includes all map updates of the past several years, including those for Asia, America and Africa. As such, the GfK World Map Edition is the most comprehensive digital map collection of postal and municipal boundaries currently available on the market.

GfK GeoMarketing has completely overhauled and expanded its World Map Edition. The edition provides comprehensive, detailed coverage of worldwide postal and administrative boundaries as well as topographic information.

"The new World Map Edition offers a worldwide, reliable basis for geographic analyses and planning endeavors of all types," explains Klaus Dittmann, head of cartography at GfK GeoMarketing.

Key features of the maps include comprehensive digitization, seamlessly fitting national and regional borders and depiction of the latest boundary status. This latter characteristic is particularly important, because outdated maps lead to errors when carrying out software-based analyses. Postcode maps comprise an indispensable basis for regional analyses, because almost all company data is associated with postcodes. Researching the latest status of postal boundaries is very challenging in many countries, because even boundary information from official sources can be outdated by several years or can only be digitized with reference to other sources such as NGOs or satellite imagery. GfK GeoMarketing specializes in the creation of postcode and municipal maps and continually updates its maps for more than 240 countries via its own in-house cartography division.

Postal and municipal boundaries
The World Map Edition includes postal boundaries for all European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa and America. Worldwide coverage of at least the 2-digit postal boundaries is provided, while much greater detail is available for many countries. The most detailed postal boundaries are depicted for all European countries.

Coverage of at least the largest administrative level is provided for every country on earth. For most countries in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and, to a certain extent, Asia, coverage is provided for all administrative boundaries down to the level of municipalities.

GfK GeoMarketing's World Map Edition also contains a comprehensive array of topographic features. Map layers depicting cities organized by number of inhabitants as well as streets, rivers and lakes are included for almost all countries in the world. In the case of European countries, additional features are depicted such as elevation levels and city areas.

Some of the maps feature coverage of boundaries that can be obtained nowhere else - including many of the postcode maps for Africa, Asia and South America.

Areas of application
Digital maps enjoy wide usage in companies and serve as a basis for many types of analyses and planning endeavors. For example, they can be used to visualize customer addresses, plan sales territories and display catchment areas. Data relationships and trends are often not apparent until displayed visually on digital maps. The regional analysis of company or market data requires a precise, comprehensive and up-to-date cartographic basis. GfK GeoMarketing's maps provide comprehensive coverage, seamlessly fitting and overlap-free boundaries, national and local place-name attributions and infinite zoom capability.

Specialized digital maps are required for use by companies, whether in retail, industry or research: The maps must include a layer that can be directly linked with the company's data. Consequently, maps that depict postal and administrative boundaries such as municipalities comprise the basis of all geographic analyses.

Digital maps serve a dual purpose in this regard: They can be used to visualize the results of analyses and, as so-called "geodata", they serve as repositories in which all data with a place-based component can be stored. GfK GeoMarketing's digital maps are available in all standard digital map formats, including *.shp (ESRI), *.mid/*.mif (MapInfo), *.gdb (Geodatabase) and *.lay (GfK GeoMarketing). The maps are also available in the Oracle (Spatial) database format for use in Oracle Business Intelligence applications.

GfK GeoMarketing offers these maps in the form of a comprehensive World Edition, continent editions and country-specific editions.

Additional information
on GfK GeoMarketing's worldwide digital maps can be found at
www.gfk-geomarketing.com/maps.

Print-quality illustrations
can be found at www.gfk-geomarketing.com/worldedition. (2.5 MB)

Download press release (approx. 160 KB)

About GfK GeoMarketing
GfK GeoMarketing is one of the largest providers of geomarketing services in Europe for customers and users from all branches of trade. Key business areas include:

• Consultancy and reports
• Market data
• Digital maps
• Geomarketing software RegioGraph

GfK GeoMarketing is a subsidiary of the globally active GfK Group. Ranked fourth among the world's market research institutes, the GfK is represented in 100 countries with over 150 subsidiaries and approximately 10,000 employees.

Published by:

GfK GeoMarketing GmbH
Werner-von-Siemens-Strasse 9
76646 Bruchsal
Germany
www.gfk-geomarketing.com

Managing directors: Wolfram Scholz, Dr. Eberhard Stegner
Amtsgericht Mannheim, HRB 250872

Responsible for content and press inquiries:

Cornelia Lichtner
Public Relations
Tel. +49 (0)7251 9295 270
Fax +49 (0)7251 9295 290
c.lichtner@gfk-geomarketing.com

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